In Kuravpur, Lord Sripad Srivallabh had promised a Brahmin woman named Ambika that he would take birth as her son. He had also promised a washerman that he would meet him in his next life. To fulfil these promises Lord Sripad Srivallabh reincarnated as Narasinha Saraswati. This is the second reincarnation of Lord Dattatrey.
In Karanjanagar, Akola District, Maharashtra State, Ambika from Kuravpur took rebirth in a Brahmin family. She was named as Ambabhavani with great affection. ’Amba’ became her nickname. Since early childhood she observed the religious vow of Pradosh44. At 13, she got married to a young man named Madhav. Madhav resided in the same town and was a learned person. He was also a devotee of Lord Shiva[1]. Both of them observed the religious vow of Pradosh with great devotion.
In January, year 1378, (Pausha Shukla Dwiteeya, year 1300, Shaniwaar) Amba gave birth to a beautiful child. Lord Dattatrey himself had reincarnated again in this birth as Amba’s child. The child, instead of crying uttered the Omkar[2] chant. Observing this strange phenomenon, the horoscope of the child was developed. The astrologer predicted that this child would grow up to have a special & unique identity. The child was named as Narhari with great enthusiasm.
When Narhari was three months old, Amba took him on her lap to breastfeed. But she found that his hunger was not completely satisfied with her breast milk. Therefore, she asked her husband to arrange for cow’s milk. Hearing these words of his mother, Narhari softly touched the breasts of his mother and miraculously, they were soon overflowing with milk.
As he grew, he was not able to speak anything except uttering the ‘Omkar’ chant. His parent’s earnestly desired to hear his stammering words. Very often they tried to speak to him expecting to hear his indistinct words in return, but he used to smile and remain quiet. Years passed and Narhari always maintained his silence. His mother Amba became very nervous assuming that her son Narhari might actually be dumb. This thought gave her throbbing mental pain. Unable to bear the thought of the possibility of her Son being dumb, she started praying fervently. She was completely heart-broken with sorrow. In the meanwhile, Narhari observed his mother’s sorrowful state and listened to her words as well.
Then, one fine day Narahari went near his mother, wiped her tears and touched a metallic utensil kept in a corner, with his hand. In an instant, the metallic utensil turned into Gold. His parents realised that this boy is not a common being, but indeed a superhuman. Yet, as a mother’s heart, Amba was not satisfied without listening to the sweet words of her son. Therefore, Narahari convinced his mother and made signs that he would start talking after his thread ceremony.
Amba became very happy when she understood the meaning of these signs and carried out his thread ceremony with great pomp. People invited for the ceremony gossiped about how this dumb boy would chant the Gayatri Mantra[3]? His father taught him the sacred Vedic hymn, but Narahari did not utter a word. His parents lost all hopes.
Once all the sacrificial rituals were over, Narhari in his ascetic garb stood before his mother to receive alms according to the traditions. As soon as he received alms from his mother, Narahari instantly started uttering the Rigveda[4]. When he received alms for the second time, Narahari started uttering Yajurveda and on receipt of the third set of alms, he started reciting samaveda. His parents were overjoyed. All the people present in the ceremony were astonished with this miracle and started glorifying Narhari with shouts of victory.
Once the thread ceremony was over, Narahari spoke to his mother “As per religious practice, after the thread ceremony one has to go to ‘Kashi’ (Banaras) for religious studies. Now I have to render service to my Guru[5] and then beg for alms. Hence please permit me to go to Banaras”. Mother Amba was fully grief stricken after hearing this. She said, “Son, I was eagerly waiting since a long time to hear you speak. Today I felt myself blessed by hearing the Vedas from you. Under this circumstance, how can you think of going to Banaras? You are our only son. If you go to Banaras, who will look after us in this old age?” She started crying. Instilling confidence in her, Narahari said, “Mother, I am not born for household entanglement. I have to carry on the mission for which I have taken birth. You should continue to observe the religious vow of Pradosh44 and you will be blessed with four more sons to look after both of you”.
Then Narahari placed his hand on his mother’s head and said, “Keep this as a secret. Do not divulge it to anyone”. So saying Narahari blessed her with Divine Grace and soon mother Amba remembered everything about her previous birth. When this remembrance of the past birth slowly diminished, she regained herself and was again overcome by motherly affection. Then she realised that Narahari is indeed the reincarnation of Lord Sripad Srivallabh and was bent on accepting asceticism. So she prayed to him, “Wait until I get a second son and then I shall permit you to go to Banaras”. Narahari replied, “why one? I shall wait until you have two sons. Are you happy now?”
Within a year, mother Amba gave birth to twin sons. After three months, Narahari spoke to his parents, “Both your sons are blessed with long life. You would get two more sons and a daughter. So now permit me to go on my mission. Now I am going to Badrika forest and after a period of thirty years, I will come back here to meet you”. So saying Narahari took blessings from his parents and started on a long pilgrimage.
[1] Lord Shiva: Shiva is a form of Ishvara or God. Shiva is the supreme God in Shaivism, one of the major branches of Hinduism.
Adi Sankara interprets the name Shiva meaning “One who purifies everyone by the utterance of His name” or the Pure One. That is, Shiva is unaffected by the three gunas (characteristics) of Prakrti (matter) namely Satva, Rajas, and Tamas.
Shiva is one of the Trimurti (i.e trinity”). In the Trimurti, Shiva is the destroyer, while Brahma is the creator and Vishnu is the preserver. Even though he represents destruction, Shiva is viewed as a positive force (The Destroyer of Evil), since creation follows destruction. However, according to Shaivism, Shiva is not merely a destroyer but performs five functions: 1. Creator, 2. Preserver, 3. Destroyer, 4. Hiding the sins, and most importantly, 5. Blessing.
Shiva also assumes many other roles, including the Lord of Ascetics (Mahadeva), the Lord of Boons (Rudra), and also the Universal Divinity (Mahesvara).Shaivaites, the worshippers of Shiva consider as the Ultimate Reality.
Shiva is usually represented by the Shiva linga (or lingam), usually depicted as a clay mound with three horizontal stripes on it. In anthropomorphised images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation on Mount Kailash, his traditional abode.
Shiva is referred to as the good one or the auspicious one. Shiva as Rudra is considered to be the destroyer of evil and sorrow. Shiva as Shankara is the doer of good. Shiva is ‘tri netra’ (divine vision), and is ‘neela kantha’ (blue necked,having consumed the poison Halahala to save the world from destruction). Shiva as Nataraja is the Divine Cosmic Dancer. Shiva as Ardh narishvara is both man and woman.
He is both static and dynamic; both creator and destroyer. He is the oldest and the youngest; he is the eternal youth as well as the infant. He is the source of fertility in all living beings. He has gentle as well as fierce forms. Shiva is the greatest of renouncers as well as the ideal lover. He destroys evil and protects good. He bestows prosperity on worshipers although he is austere. He is omnipresent and resides in everyone as pure consciousness.
Shiva is inseparable from Parvati (also referred to as Shakti),the daughter of Himavaan and Haimavati. There is no Shiva without Shakti and no Shakti without Shiva;the two are one, the absolute state of being – consciousness and bliss.
[2] Omkar: The continous vibratory sound of Om or Aum: Om (also Aum, 
) is the most sacred syllable in Hinduism, symbolizing the infinite Brahman and the entire Universe. This syllable is sometimes called the “Udgitha” or “pranava mantra” (primordial mantra), because it is considered to be the primal sound, and because most mantras begin with it. In Hindu metaphysics, it is proposed that the manifested cosmos (from Brahman) has name and form (nama-rupa), and that the closest approximation to the name and form of the universe is Om, since all existence is fundamentally composed of vibration. (This concept of describing reality as vibrations, or rhythmic waves, can also be found in quantum physics and superstring theory, which describe the universe in terms of vibrating fields or strings.)
[3] Gayatri Mantra: The Gayatri Mantra is the most revered mantra in Hinduism (second only to the mantra Om). It consists of the prefix :om bhūr bhuva svaha , a formula taken from the Yajurveda, and the verse 3.62.10 of the Rigveda (which is an example of the Gayatri meter). Since all the other three Vedas contain much material rearranged from the Rig Veda, the Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas. The deva invoked in this mantra is Savitar, and hence the mantra is also called Sāvitrī.
The Gayatri is seen as a Divine awakening of the mind and soul, and within it a way to reach the most Supreme form of existence, and the way to Union with Brahman. Understanding, and purely loving the essence of the Gayatri Mantra is seen by many, to be one, if not the most powerful ways to attain God.
Originally the personification of the mantra, the goddess Gayatri is considered the veda mata, the mother of all Vedas and the consort of the God Brahma and also the personification of the all-pervading Parabrahman, the ultimate unchanging reality that lies behind all phenomena. Gayatri Veda Mata is seen by many Hindus to be not just a Goddess, but a portrayal of Brahman himself, in the feminine form. Essentially, the Goddess is seen to combine all the phenomenal attributes of Brahman, including Past, Present and Future [Bhuh BHuvah Swah] as well as the 3 realms of existence. Goddess Gayatri is also worshipped as the Hindu Trimurti combined as one [Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva], and the image of her portrays her carrying all the ‘objects’ in the hands of each God of the Trimurti, symbolising the Divine creation, and destruction as one omnipotent force
[4] Rigveda: The holiest Hindu Scripture. There are four Vedas-Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. It is one of the world’s oldest religious texts. It was preserved over the centuries by oral tradition.
[5] Guru: Preceptor. The importance of finding a guru who can impart transcendental knowledge (vidyā) is one of the tenets of Hinduism. One of the main Hindu texts, the Bhagavad Gita, is a dialogue between God in the form of Krishna and Arjuna a nobleman. Not only does their dialogue outlines many of the ideals of Hinduism, but the discussion and relationship between the two considered to be an expression of the ideal Guru/disciple relationship. In the Gita itself, Krishna speaks of the importance of finding a guru to Arjuna:
Acquire the transcendental knowledge from a Self-realized master by humble reverence, by sincere inquiry, and by service. The wise ones who have realized the Truth will impart the Knowledge to you. (Bhagavad Gītā, c4 s34)
In the sense mentioned above, guru is used more or less interchangeably with “satguru” (literally: true teacher) and satpurusha. The disciple of a guru is called a sishya or chela. Often, a guru lives in an ashram or in a gurukula (the guru’s household) together with his disciples. The lineage of a guru, spread by worthy disciples who carry on that guru’s particular message, is known as the guru parampara or disciplic succession. The guru is the one who guides his or her disciple to become jivanmukta, the liberated soul able to achieve salvation in his or her lifetime through God-realization.